A hundred new all-women police patrols rolled out of Constitution Club, New Delhi on Sunday, 18 October 2026 — not in a quiet administrative order, but with a green flag personally waved by Rajasthan Chief Minister Bhajanlal Sharma, who told the assembled officers that women's safety is not merely a law-and-order problem but a matter of dignity, freedom, self-confidence, and equal opportunity.

What CM Bhajanlal told the Kalika officers

Addressing the Kalika Patrolling Units and Women Youth Community Liaison Group (CLG) members — many of whom joined via video-conferencing from across Rajasthan — Sharma said, 'mahila suraksha kewal kanoon-vyavastha ka vishay nahin' ('women's safety is not simply a law-and-order matter'). He called on Kalika personnel to approach their work with sensitivity, dedication, discipline, and courage. The event was also an open dialogue: the Chief Minister listened to suggestions and field experiences from officers and CLG members before raising the flag.

The travel-allowance announcement that changes Kalika's daily reality

The most tangible announcement of the evening: Sharma declared that Kalika Patrolling Unit members will now receive a fixed monthly travel allowance equivalent to that given to Constables, Head Constables, and Assistant Sub-Inspectors posted at police stations and outposts. The move directly addresses a long-standing morale gap — dedicated women patrol officers were effectively doing the same daily commuting work as station-posted colleagues without the same financial recognition. Small on paper, consequential on the ground.

Kalika units and Rajasthan's women-centric policing push

The Kalika Patrolling Units are all-women rapid-response teams designed to improve police responsiveness to crimes against women in both urban and rural settings. Rajasthan has run dedicated women safety units and helplines since at least 2018 under successive governments, but the post-December 2023 BJP administration under Sharma has made visible, operational expansion of these units a signature theme. The state's Women Youth CLG network — young women acting as community liaison partners for local policing — extends that reach deeper into neighbourhoods where a formal patrol rarely has time to linger.

Several Indian states have experimented with all-women police units to improve responsiveness to gender-based violence and lift female representation inside police structures. Rajasthan's addition of a financial-support component to operational deployment gives the model a slightly different edge: the stated intent is not just visibility but sustainability.

One hundred vehicles, one signal to watch

The green-flag dispatch of 100 new Kalika units is the immediate headline, but the test will be in the district-wise rollout over the coming months and whether the announced travel allowance actually reaches officers' accounts on schedule. Those two metrics will tell the real story of whether Sunday's event was a ceremony or a turning point.